Mineral element composition of cabbage as affected by soil type and phosphorus and zinc fertilisation

Abstract

Background and aims

The effects of phosphorus and zinc applications on phosphorus and zinc concentrations in plants grown in different soil types have rarely been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different soil types and phosphorus and zinc addition on growth and mineral element composition of red cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L. cv. Red Drumhead).

Methods

Plants were grown for six weeks in three different soils (a freely drained Cambisol, an imperfectly drained Cambisol, and a Stagnosol) in a glasshouse. Each soil was amended with one of 25 combinations of phosphorus and zinc fertiliser. Soil characteristics, growth, and mineral element concentrations in shoots were assessed.

Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government and an EU Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship (REA grant agreement n°623305) to Paula Pongrac, who also acknowledges financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (P1-0212 programme) and Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia. Authors are grateful to Ralph Wilson, John Rattray and Konrad Neugebauer for their help with collecting the soil and to Lawrie Brown for her help with Olsen P measurements. We thank Timothy S. George for reading the original manuscript.

IUSS Working Group WRB (2015) World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nation. Available via http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3794e.pdf Accessed 7 Nov 2017